What Could Have Been
by p3btvs
Summary: Set as a season 8 opener. When Buffy and friends move to Ohio, she keeps seeing a man. she will soon say something in front of him and she will be sent back in time to either accept her destiny as a slayer, or deny it completly!
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1: It Came from the Cold

Buffy Summers was your typical twenty something American female. Except for the part where she must save the world almost every single week from demons and blood thirsty vampires. Yes, other than that she was…normal. She had two best friends. One of them was just as normal as she. A carpenter named Xander. The other was just as weird and unusual as she, a witch named Willow. Buffy also had one sister, Dawn. Dawn was also one of the oddballs of the group. At one time in her life she was a Key. Not just any key though. She was the key to open up a different dimension. Soon after the door was shut and locked, so to speak, she was as normal as Buffy or Xander. Then about a year ago, when all the Potentials came knocking at the front door of the Summers' household, she thought she would be destined for greatness and be a Potential as well. However this didn't happen.

Buffy and her friends were on their way to Cleveland, Ohio on a school bus. They had come so far from Sunnydale, California. There they had just gotten done defeating the most powerful evil that her and her friends knew, The First. Of course they couldn't do it alone. They had the help of Potential Vampire Slayers, who were now Actual Vampire Slayers, thanks to Willow. They came from all corners of the world and all directions of the United States just to help Buffy in, what she thought, was her Ultimate Battle. Of course now there might be another one in store according to Giles, Buffy's watcher, if there is another Hellmouth in Ohio.

A Hellmouth was literally a mouth to Hell. The Master, the first evil that Buffy had to face when she moved to Sunnydale, had tried to open the Hellmouth. Buffy had of course stopped this and defeated The Master. Six years later, The First tried to open it again. Buffy didn't want to wait for the battle to come so she took it to them. She and her Potential Slayers had went down into the Hellmouth themselves and fought for their lives in a raging war. Many lost their lives. Some where still hurt now at this point, but the only thing Buffy could think was;

"_Are we there yet_?_ Are we there yet_?_ Are we…God I sound like Dawn_!" She laughed at this thought then shook her head and brushed it away from her mind. She couldn't think about such things now. One of her Potentials;

"_NO! Not Potentials anymore! Actual Slayers_!" Buffy thought, was still bleeding. Buffy was surprised that she made it this long, she knew she would be dead soon. As unfortunate as it sounds, when you are a Vampire Slayer, death is inevitable. "_Something I am way too familiar with_!" Buffy thought again as she thought about both times she had died the past seven years. And then, just last month when an Ubber Vampire, one of The First's deadly assassins had thrust a blade through her. And before that, one had nearly beaten her to death.

"We're almost there." Xander said. He was driving the school bus that they were in. He was excited because his shift was almost over, then Giles would have to take over. "Just hold on…we are close to a hospital I think." He was right. Just about a mile ahead was a sign that read, "HOSPITAL: NEXT EXIT". He felt himself get a little more enthused. He was starving, as many others were. They hadn't eaten since they left the last truck stop almost an entire day ago.

"Okay Xander, pull over and I will take it from here." Giles said with his British accent. Giles had been with Buffy, Xander, and Willow from day one. They were a team. At this point, he really didn't want to drive. He hated driving this damn school bus! It is much bigger than his little red car that he owned, but he was just trying to be nice.

"No, it's okay. I will drive to the Hospital and then, you can take over from there." Xander said. Giles had just gotten as excited as Xander. Especially when he noticed that he wouldn't have to drive at all. They had just reached their destination. Cleveland, Ohio.

Buffy could see that they were getting ready to enter the city and noticed a man at the side of the road. This man was dressed in very nice cloths. He wore a suit and tie as he just stood there. As they passed him Buffy could have sworn that he looked at her, and had been looking at her the whole time.

"Yo B, I think that guy was checkin' you out." Faith said with a laugh. Faith was also a Vampire Slayer. ("If you really think about it…I'm the _real_ slayer" she would tell the Potentials whenever Buffy wasn't around.) Faith had been a Slayer just about two years after Buffy figured out she was one. Buffy had drowned when she first moved to Sunnydale and a girl by the name of Kendra was called to be a Slayer. When Kendra died at the hands of Drusilla, Buffy's ex-lover's ex-girlfriend (relationships with Buffy weren't exactly normal), Faith was called.

"Yeah, that's just what I need, _another_ freak for a boyfriend." Buffy said to Faith. They both shared a laugh. It hurt Buffy to call the loves of her lives (literally) freaks. They weren't freaks. They were just…vampires.

Buffy could feel herself getting drowsy. She closed her eyes. She probably hadn't slept for at least two days. For a short moment she could hear all the noises she had been hearing on the bus; girls chatting about their battle scars and their near-death experiences. Rona, the girl who Buffy thought would be dead soon, was crying over her pain as Vi held her and kept her company. Willow and Kennedy, Willow's gay, potential slayer, lover, were sitting in the back of the bus cuddling up next to each other and Buffy could hear the occasional smacking of their lips.

But soon, Buffy found that the noises were fading. All she could hear now was crying, nothing else except for crying. She listened for a moment then realized it was herself. She was crying. She couldn't picture anything. The only thing that came to her mind was the man that she just saw on the side of the rode. He was just standing there in his black and white dress cloths in an all black room. Buffy, behind him, was crying. Then she finally heard something besides her crying. The man said "It's okay. Do you know what you want?" The crying Buffy looked up at him, and nodded.

"B! Are you okay?" Faith asked as Buffy gasped awake.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Buffy said. She looked out the window of the bus and saw that they were in a parking lot. "Are we here?"

"Yeah, we just parked. They are taking Rona in now. Let's go in." Willow said as she came out from the back of the bus with Kennedy. Faith, Willow, Buffy, and Kennedy all walked off of the bus and into the hospital.

As they walked in they didn't see any of their friends so they had walked up to the front desk. "Hi! May I help you?" a short stubby woman said with enthusiasm.

"Um, yes we are looking for…" Buffy started to say. She looked at Willow. Knowing that Buffy _still_ hadn't memorized all the girl's names, she cut in.

"Rona."

"Oh yes. I think that they just took her back into surgery. Gosh she looked like she got mauled by a group of wild dogs! What happened…if you don't mind me asking of course?" The woman was speaking so fast.

"We don't exactly know. Um, some other people brought her in. We are with them. Do you know where they went?" Willow asked. She wanted to get as far away from this woman as wiccanly possible.

"Oh yes, they went to the café." The woman said with the biggest smile on her face.

"Okay thanks." Faith said with the fakest smile on her face. The four girls walked off in search of the café. As they walked down a hall Buffy looked into a room. She saw that man that was on the side of the rode. She grabbed Willow by the arm. She didn't dare take her eyes off him. He stood in the middle of the doorway and stared at her as she stared back.

"Willow! There he is!" Buffy said as she pointed at the man. Willow followed Buffy's finger and saw nothing but a poor dieing old man in a hospital bed.

"You know him?" Willow asked.

"What do you mean? That is the guy from the side of the rode."

"The guy on the rode looked younger than that guy."

"What?" Buffy looked at Willow with a confused look. She looked back at the man but he was no longer there. All she saw was an old man in a hospital bed. "He was standing right there."

"Okay." Willow said. She took hold of Buffy's arm and walked with her in the direction of the café.

When they walked in they could see Xander stuffing his face with all different foods. There was even a little stain from butter on his eye patch. Xander had had his eye gauged out a few months earlier. It was a difficult time for him and he didn't much appreciate the "eye for an eye" jokes that Giles kept saying.

"So did they take Rona back to surgery?" Willow asked as she sat down at the table with her friends. Buffy was still looking behind her. She couldn't believe she saw that man.

"They didn't just take her! They nearly tackled us trying to get to her!" Xander said with a mouth full of food.

"So they slay-napped her?" Willow said with a chuckle.

"If you want to call it that." Xander said trying to swallow the food that was still in his mouth.

"LOOK! There he is again!" Buffy said as she saw the man come out of the kitchen, look at her, then walk into the hall and into one of the rooms. Buffy looked at her friends. "Did you see him?"

They all looked at Buffy for a few seconds before someone spoke. "Sorry Buffy, but no I didn't." Kennedy said.

Buffy looked back at the kitchen and saw about five cooks come out trying to warm themselves up.

"We are not going back in there! It's freezing!" said one of the cooks to his manager. The manager was shivering just as much as the cooks but still tried to talk them into going back in.

"Huh. That's weird." Kennedy said as she, and the others, watched all the cooks.

"Well someone had to touch the thermostat!" said the manager. He had finally warmed up enough to speak without a quivered voice.

"I'm going to go check that out." Buffy said when she saw that nobody was around to see her.

Buffy crept over to the kitchen door. She saw that it looked normal inside, at least it didn't seem like it would be cold. She slowly opened the doors. It felt like she had just been hit by a blizzard. It was freezing in the kitchen. When she got inside she tried to warm herself up as she looked around. She didn't see anything, except the man that she saw on the side of the rode, standing there. Buffy gasped. He walked away through a wall and into another room. Buffy ran out of the kitchen.

"He's crashing!" a nurse said as Buffy came out of the kitchen. She saw about three nurses run into a room. It looked like this room was connected to the kitchen. When she went to the door, she heard one of the nurses say;

"Oh my gosh! He is freezing!" Buffy looked around the room and saw all the nurses…and that man from the side of the rode.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Deal With the Devil

"You guys really didn't see him?" Buffy asked her friends. They had just walked onto the school bus.

"No B. Sorry but we didn't." Faith said. "But everyone did see that guy being frozen alive right? That wasn't just me?"

"No, that wasn't just you Faith. But seeing him being frozen made me think of Anya." Xander said with a sad face. Anya was Xander's one true love. She had died in the battle a few months ago and Xander would notice little things and say that it reminded him of her. But this one was just too weird. Everyone looked at him with a face that was saying, 'please tell me this story so I can regret listening to it later.'

"Well see Anya was convinced, after reading those Narnia books that our freezer was the passage way to it. I came home and she was stuck in the freezer." Xander explained. He got tears in his eye and walked to the back of the bus.

"Damn that chick was something else." Faith said. As soon as she said this Buffy saw that man again. She almost said something but she figured that if she brought it up again, her friends would call her 'The Slayer that cried Demon'.

"_Is he following me_?"Buffy thought. She would soon find out because at that moment, the bus started moving.

"Where are we going?" asked Vi, one of the new slayers.

"I am taking us to a hotel so we can all get a proper sleep." Giles assured her.

Buffy needed some sleep. She could again feel herself getting drowsy. She slowly nodded off to sleep and had a dream. She was in a dark room. Suddenly the lights came on and she realized where she was. She was in The Bronze. The Bronze was an old club that Buffy and her friends went to in High School. The Bronze was crowded. Suddenly Buffy saw herself sitting at a table with a man. This wasn't just any man though; it was angel, Buffy's first love. They both leaned into each other and kissed. Buffy knew when this was; seven years ago.

Then out of the corner of her eye, she saw another version of herself. This version was from last year. She saw herself under the stairs making out with Spike, her second vampire love. Buffy looked away because seeing this hurt her. Spike sacrificed himself in the final battle back in Sunnydale. She looked toward her and Angel but she only saw Angel, standing in front of her. The seven-years-ago Buffy was standing right next to the present Buffy.

"You know you want Angel. He was your first love." The seven-years-ago Buffy told the present Buffy. She was standing to the right of present Buffy.

"But he left you. That's why you want Spike. Spike was there after Angel left to mend your broken heart." The one-year-ago Buffy said to the present Buffy. She was on the left of present Buffy. Spike was now standing close to Angel.

"What?!? No he wasn't! Riley was there!" The seven-years-ago Buffy said to the one-year-ago Buffy.

"And that's why you want Riley." Suddenly a version of Buffy from three years ago appeared right next to the version of Buffy from seven years ago. Then Riley appeared right between Spike and Angel.

"Okay A, Riley is married now!" The present Buffy said. Riley and his Buffy faded away. "B, Spike is dead now so none of this matters."

Suddenly the man from the side of the rode appeared between Angel and Spike and said, "But do you know what you want?"

Buffy jerked awake. She was on the bus but nobody was with her. It was dark outside and she could see that the bus was in a parking lot of a hotel. Buffy got up, out of the bus, and went to the service counter to see which room everyone was in.

"Hi. Did a bunch of girls come in with three guys?" Buffy asked the woman behind the service desk.

"Yes. I gave them their room key but I think they all went down to the pool. Are you with them?"

"Yes."

"Oh well the pool is just at the end of this hallway and to the left." The woman pointed to a hall.

"Thank you." Buffy said with a smile. She walked down the hall and took a left and found everyone laughing and playing in the pool.

"Hey sleeping beauty" Wood said. Wood was Faith's boyfriend. They got together a few nights before the battle and when Faith thought that he was dead, she realized that she thought she might be in love with him. She has been spending as much time with him as humanly possible.

"Ha ha very funny. Who has the room key? I want to take a shower." Buffy said. Giles handed her a credit card type of key. It had the hotel name and room number on it. "Thanks Giles."

Buffy walked up to the room. When she opened the door she found that it was a normal hotel room but a bit bigger. It had two bathrooms and three beds. Buffy didn't care about the beds at all. She ran to the bathroom and started the shower. She had a long hot shower that woke her up. It was very relaxing. After about twenty minutes of cleanliness heaven, Buff turned off the shower and opened the curtains. And there, standing in front of her, was the man from the side of the rode.

"What the hell? Who are you?" Buffy asked.

"I'm Arnold." The man reached out to shake Buffy's hand. When Buffy shook it, she noticed that she was naked. She quickly let go of his hand and reached for a towel to cover herself up.

"Okay, what the hell is going on? Are you going to kill me because if so, you must not know who I am."

"I'm not going to kill you my dear slayer, I'm going to save you.

"What do you mean save me?"

"The moment I saw you on that bus I could sense that you wanted something, so I'm here to give it to you."

"And it will save me?"

"Well it could. I know for sure it will give you a new outlook on your life though."

"Well thanks, but no thanks. I don't want anything."

"Buffy are you okay in there?" A voice from outside that bathroom asked. It was Dawn.

"Yeah Dawn I'm fine." Buffy said as she eyed Arnold up and down. "What are you doing up here? I thought everyone was down at the pool."

"We were, I mean we are. I came up for extra towels." Dawn said.

"I know what you dreamt Buffy." Arnold said with a whisper so Dawn wouldn't hear him. Buffy thought it wouldn't even matter considering she was the only one that could see him.

"You got that towels Dawn?" Buffy asked as she ignored Arnold.

"Yeah. Okay I'm heading back down. Come down with us when you're done! It'll be fun!" Dawn said.

"Yeah, I'll think about it." Buffy said. She didn't hear if Dawn actually left the room because she was too busy with Arnold. "How do you know what I dreamt?"

"Because I was there Buffy! I know you saw me. And after seeing your last dream, I know what you want."

"Well then why don't you just tell me what I want?"

"You want Spike. You just want him to hold you in his arms and tell you it will all be okay."

Buffy began to tear up. She really did want this, but it wasn't the only thing she really wanted. And she had a feeling that Arnold knew it too. Arnold reached out his hand and touched Buffy's shoulder. Buffy felt all the emotions she had felt over the last seven years; pain, sorrow, joy, suffering, and many more. She fell over. She was crying now.

"But your wants go deeper than Spike don't they? You want to sit on the porch with him and read the morning paper and tuck your kids into bed at night; you want a normal life with him."

"It's not a normal life with _him_. I just wanted a normal life!" Buffy was still on the floor and by now, she was crying so hard that she could barely see. "I never wanted to be the slayer; I just wanted to be normal!"

A few seconds went by where the only sounds you could hear were Buffy's sobs. Then as if out of nowhere, Arnold spoke;

"Done." He snapped his fingers and by the time Buffy turned her head to ask him what was going on, he had vanished. There was a knock at the door.

"Buffy are you okay in there?" A voice said from the other side.

"Yes Dawn I'm fine! I will be down in a minute!" Buffy said with tears still in her eyes.

"Who is Dawn?" The voice asked. Buffy got the most confused look on her face. She wiped her face of all the tears, got up and opened the door.

"Mom?" Buffy asked.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Blast From the Past

"MOM! What are you doing here?" Buffy asked as she was trying to catch her breath over the shock of seeing her mother, Joyce. Buffy's mother had died only a few years back. The only time Buffy saw her after her death was when The First acted like her to try and convince Buffy to not fight.

"Buffy don't act like you have amnesia or something, you're going to school no ifs, ands, or buts about it!" Joyce walked off and left Buffy completely confused.

"What does she mean I'm going to school? And what is she doing here? Wait…" Buffy took a look around the bathroom she was in. Where the hotel's bathroom was, now there was here bathroom back at Sunnydale. "what am _I_ doing here?" Buffy walked over to the mirror and was shocked to see herself, seven years younger.

"WHAT THE HELL?!?"

"Is there something wrong?" came a familiar voice from behind her. It was Arnold.

"YES! Everything is wrong! What the hell did you do to me?"

"What did _I_ do to you? Darling you did this to yourself"

"Darling? Ew! What do you mean I did this to myself? Spill it Arney or I'll spill it for you!" Buffy said. Being the slayer she had a specialty for being intimidating. However Arnold didn't look nearly impressed or frightened.

"Arney? Ew! It's Arnold okay, not Arney, not A-man, not even A-diddy…don't ask! And I don't think you can spill it for me even if you wanted too! Beings that you are not longer a slayer."

Buffy looked shocked! It couldn't be true! It wasn't true! He was a demon and demons lie! Besides, she never said, "I wish." That was the magic word for demons to this kind of damage.

"You don't believe me do you?"

"Well I just don't understand _how _it could happen. I never said the 'magic words' so how could I not be the slayer anymore?"

"You said the magic words alright! Remember…you said, "I never _wanted_ to be the slayer, I just _wanted _a normal life!" so take that!"

"But…I thought the magic words were 'I wish'! When did you guys change it?"

"It has always been this way! Did you think I was a wishing demon? I'm a wanting demon!"

"Can't you demons come up with better names? And I have a question Mr. Wanting Demon. I said I wanted a normal life! So what am I doing in Sunnydale? Why am I not in L.A. with my dad and mom together? I thought the only reason they got divorced was because I _had_ to move to Sunnydale because of the Hellmouth and if I'm not the slayer then I don't need to be over here at all."

"Everyone has different destinies. Your destiny was to come to Sunnydale to stop the Hellmouth. Your mother's destiny was to come to Sunnydale to start that gallery of hers. And your mother _and_ father's destiny was to have you but not each other. That's just the way life is."

"BUFFY! Come on! You are going to be late!" came Joyce's voice from downstairs. Buffy had forgotten about everything while talking to Arnold.

"Look I got to go to school…again. If I have any questions do I just call for you or something?" Buffy asked.

"I'll be around." Arnold said as he snapped his fingers then disappeared into thin air.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4: Back To School…Again

The ride to school that day wasn't unfamiliar to Buffy, not just because it happened once already seven years ago, but because this was the first time she said more than three words to her mother since they moved to Sunnydale and she missed that dearly.

So many things were running through her mind at this moment, one of them being what Giles was going to say when she told him she had given up her powers as a slayer, the next being about the conversation that was about to happen in just minutes maybe even seconds. And lastly, Sunnydale High, the very school that Buffy thought she had long forgotten. And then she saw it, the high school that Giles had blown up four years ago, and the conversation began;

"Have a good time. I know you're going to make friends right away just think positive." Joyce told her daughter as she stepped out of the car. Buffy knew exactly where this conversation was going, she would shut the door, her mom would tell her to not get kicked out, and she would promise…she had to change it.

"Mom…I love you! You know that right?"

"Yes honey I know, I love you too" Joyce had a smile on her face and looked like she was about to cry. As Buffy shut the door behind her, Joyce spoke again. "Oh honey…"

"I promise I won't get kicked out." Buffy cut her off. Joyce had the most confused look on her face.

"What are you talking about? I was going to say 'don't forget your lunch'." Joyce handed Buffy a brown bag that was sitting in the back seat. "Why would I tell you not to get kicked out?"

"Oh…um…never mind. My mind is somewhere else right now, sorry," Buffy grabbed the brown bag and started to walk off but was nearly run over by a kid on a skateboard.

"HEY! Watch where you're going…XANDER!" Buffy was shocked to see it was one of her best friends. But Xander hadn't almost run Buffy over seven years ago, maybe it was the longer conversation she had with her mother that made her a few seconds behind.

Xander was looking around for the source of the voice that called his name and ran into a rail that separated the steps that led up to Sunnydale High. After the humiliating blow, he saw his red-haired friend Willow who was just the person he wanted to see…and so did Buffy.

"Willow, you're so very much the person I wanted to see." Xander started to say as Willow had a smile on her face, but before they could finish their conversation, Buffy cut in and greeted them as she normally did.

"Hey guys! Oh my God do I have a story to tell you! " Buffy said as she leaned in to hug Willow backed away rather quickly.

"I'm sorry, do we know you?" Willow said.

"Willow, it's me…Buff…right we haven't met yet because we meet at the first time in front of the water fountain where Cordillia comments on your cloths. And Xander and I don't meet until I come out of Snyder's…no…Flutie's office." Buffy explains more to herself rather than to her two friends who now probably want nothing to do with her.

"Look if you're some kind of crazy person, we have a really good school counselor. His name is Xander and he would rather meet with his patients at night, perhaps at a movie sometime." Xander knew this was a lost cause but he thought he might try it anyway.

"Oh shut up and get to class! I might be delaying you already. I have to talk to a librarian about a book, after I talk to Flutie and go to class." Buffy was amazed that she remembered everything so well. But she didn't have time to flaunt off her memory, she needed to talk to the principal and go to her first class and get to Giles as soon as possible if she ever wanted to figure out what was going on.

* * *

"Buffy Summers, sophomore, late of Hemery High in Los Angeles, interesting record, quite a career." Principal Flutie was reading off Buffy's transcript from her old high school. Buffy really didn't want to be here right now. She had questions to ask, answers she wanted, and Watchers to see. Buffy let out a sigh.

"Is something wrong?" A voice that wasn't Principal Flutie's asked.

"No offence Arnold, but I really don't have time for this! I know what happens, he will rip up my letter, then tape it back together, he'll tell me t watch my step without actually saying it. Then I will go to class meet Cordillia and then go to the library to meet Giles."

"Didn't you learn anything from that conversation with your mom? The Slayer is not who you are and it's not who you were. You didn't get kicked out of your old high school and you didn't burn down the gym."

"But he said 'interesting record' and 'quite a career'." Buffy was convinced that there was something Arnold was not telling her. Arnold walked around Principal Flutie and read Buffy's transcripts over his shoulder.

"That's because you do have an interesting record. A+ student, until about a year ago when you slipped down the grading scale, probably your parent's divorce. And all these awards is what he is talking about when he said 'quite a career'. You're actually a really bright and intelligent young woman.

"No way!" Buffy got out of her seat and joined Arnold to read her transcript. "Holy crap! I got offered a scholarship to Harvard in my freshman year! WOW! I'm brilliant!" Arnold looked at Buffy and smiled. "What?"

"Alright I'm not actually supposed to do this but would you like for me to skip you ahead a bit? Ditch this conversation, ditch class, and meet Giles?"

"Actually, take me to when Cordillia and I are talking in the hall." Buffy had a smile on her face. She wanted to go back to this time so many times in the years that she knew Cordillia to try and change it, make it to where Cordillia never hangs out with Buffy and her friends.

"Okay, take my hand." Buffy grabbed her backpack, took Arnold's hand, and before she knew it, she was walking through the hall with Cordillia.

"If you hang with me and mine, you'll be accepted in no time." Cordillia told Buffy as they walked down the hall. Buffy hadn't seen Cordillia since their graduation and she had to admit, she somewhat missed the sarcastic brunette that was a little taller than Buffy herself.

"Look Cordy, I'm sure this would have been a great friendship, and someday we might actually speak again, but right now, I don't have time for a snobby, self-centered daddy's girl." Buffy had wanted to say this for so long. She took in Cordillia's shocked look and was about to run off for the library when she remembered something; "Oh and be nice to Willow because she is actually a really nice person." And with these final words, she took off.

* * *

"Giles! Giles!" Buffy burst through the swinging doors of the library. As she entered she almost started to cry as she remembered her previous days of doing what she was doing now. "GILES!"

"Do you mind young lady? This is a library and you are disturbing the peace." An old man said from behind the desk.

"Oh I'm sorry…where's Giles?"

"Who?"

"Mister Giles, the Librarian."

"I'm sure you are mistaken. I have been the Librarian at Sunnydale High for nearly fifteen years now."

"Alright…ARNOLD!"

"What do you want now? You're so whiney." Arnold said as he appeared sitting on the desk that the old Librarian was behind.

"Hey you're the one who offered to help me out so don't give me that!" Buffy said with her hands on her hips. "Where's Giles?"

"Oh right, the Watcher…well I suppose since you are not the Slayer that he is off watching some young new Slayer."

"Is it Kendra?"

"Who?"

"Kendra was the Slayer that was called after I died at the end of this year."

"Oh no, then that would change the whole ripple. Faith might become the Slayer too soon and…you see where I'm going with this?"

"I think, so if Giles isn't here then who do I talk to for advice about getting the hell out of here?"

"You know you can only get out of here when you have learned a lesson." Arnold slid off the desk and went face to face with Buffy. He looked as if he was getting ready to lean in for a kiss when Buffy pushed him away.

"What the hell are you doing? Just start time up again…I need to talk to Willow."

"As you wish." Arnold snapped his fingers and just like that, he was gone. Buffy turned back the Librarian who she wished so bad was Giles.

"I'm sorry, my mind is somewhere else…good day." The Librarian nodded towards Buffy and she walked out of the doors.

* * *

Willow had just sat down in the courtyard and pulled out her brown-bag lunch when Buffy came up to her.

"Hey Willow." She said as she waved her hand. Willow looked up trying to see the source of the voice when she noticed it was Buffy.

"Look, I don't want any trouble okay."

"Okay slow down crazy girl. I don't want to cause you any harm I swear. Just hear me out okay?" Buffy was holding up both of her hands as if she was guilty and trying to say it wasn't her fault. Willow nodded at her and Buffy began to explain.

"Look I know this is going to sound really creepy and crazy but you're my best friend, well, in another dimension or time or world you are. And I really need someone to talk to right now because I am going through a hard time and…I'm not explaining this right."

"It's okay Buffy. There is a little part of me that wants to run away from you, but when you said in another dimension, or whatever, we are best friends, something is just telling me that you are telling the truth."

"Because we _are_ best friends and that is the connection you feel and I feel it too! We've been best friends since about this moment seven years ago and I know this sounds crazy but…" before Buffy could finish her sentence, Xander and his friend Jesse came up to Buffy and Willow.

"Are we interrupting? We're interrupting." Xander said as he climbed on the wall behind the girls. Jesse just stood in front of them in the courtyard.

"Buffy you know Xander already. This is Jesse." Willow pointed to a tall and skinny jet black haired seventeen year old who Buffy knew was going to die soon. The only words she could think of to say to her would-be friend was a dismal;

"Hey."

"Look Buffy I'm totally going to ignore what you said to me earlier because you're new and all…" Cordillia said behind Jesse. No one saw that she was there until Jesse moved aside.

"Cordillia…hey." Jesse said trying to hit on her. She just looked at him and held up her hand as a form of shutting him up.

"Oh please. I just wanted to tell you Buffy that you won't be meeting Coach Foster, the woman with the chest hair, because gym was cancelled due to the _extreme _dead guy stuffed in Aura's locker."

Buffy couldn't deny that she knew this was coming. She sighed and leaned her head down.

"Is something wrong Buffy?" Willow asked.

"No, there's nothing wrong." Buffy replied.

"Why did you just lie to your best friend?" Buffy could feel Arnold right behind her sitting next to Xander. "Something is wrong isn't it?"

"You know that something is wrong. Why even ask?" Buffy said with tears swelling in her eyes.

"What's wrong Buffy?"

"Why don't you tell me what's wrong?" Buffy snapped at Arnold.

"Alright I will. You feel guilty."

"Yes. I feel guilty because I know who killed that guy and I know who is going to kill Jesse but I can't do anything about it because I'm not the Slayer." Buffy said. Tears were coming down her face really slow; she was trying to hold them back.

"No, not because you aren't the Slayer, because you are selfish."

"Excuse me?" Buffy got red in the face. She knew that if she had the strength she usually had, Arnold would be down on the ground begging for death. "Wanting a normal life isn't selfish, it's human. And I'll be damned if I let a demon sit there and tell me what is right and what is wrong."

There was a moment of silence that Arnold broke. "You're right and I'm sorry. Just go to the Bronze tonight and don't worry about it." Buffy got a horrified look on her face. "What?"

"The Bronze. Willow meets a vampire at the Bronze tonight because of me. I'm going to kill my best friend." And without even trying to hold them back, the tears began to pour.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5: Date With Death

As Buffy walked down a darkened street she couldn't help but remember that this was where she met Angel for the first time seven years ago. She was walking to The Bronze, a teen nightclub that she and her friends went to on a daily basis. Then she heard footsteps following her. She was so positive that it was really Angel but when she turned around she frowned, as it was only Arnold.

"Not who you were expecting?" Arnold asked

"Why do you do that? Why do you ask questions that you know the answers to?" Buffy asked with a frustrated look on her face.

"Alright fine. I know who you were expecting and I'm sorry I got your hopes up."

"Thank you. I'll take your apology into consideration."

"So where are you going?" Arnold looked around. "I mean a non-slayer shouldn't be hanging around in a place like this."

"Oh ha ha ha very funny. I'm on my way to The Bronze jackass." Buffy said as she turned around and continued walking.

"Oh so that's how you cope with your problems. Actually, if I found out that my BFF was going to die, I'd go clubbin' too."

"Okay, first of all, It's the late '90s, abbreviations like 'BFF' aren't _that_ cool yet. Second of all, I'm going 'clubbin' because Willow will be there and because of me she will meet a vampire and since I can't protect her she'll die." Buffy remembered the events of this night as if it had happened yesterday.

"Alright but here is my problem. If you will cause Willow's death, then why are you going to talk to her?"

"I'm not. I really need a drink and I don't think mommy will let her twenty-three year old daughter, who she thinks is sixteen, into the liquor cabinet." Buffy started to yell.

"Okay, calm down. It was just a little question. So what will you do?"

"I'm going to go there, drink the pain away, and avoid Willow at all costs!" Buffy said as she turned a corner and started walking a little faster.

"Wow. Getting drunk and avoiding problems. Sheesh you're like my mom at Christmas!" Arnold said with a blank look on his face. Buffy looked at him with confusion. "What?"

"Aren't you a demon?" Buffy asked with the same look on her face. She had stopped walking.

"Aren't you a slayer? Oh right…NO!"

And that was all it took. Buffy drew back her fist and punched Arnold in the face as hard as she could. Because she wasn't used to not having slayer strength, it hurt her more than it hurt Arnold.

"You hit like a girl." Arnold said as he almost laughed.

"I AM A GIRL! A stupid, regular, average GIRL!" Buffy started to pout a little. "I need a drink!"

Buffy started to run down the street as she heard the booming noise of music. Then she saw it. The Bronze. It looked as beautiful as ever. Buffy nearly tackled everyone as she ran inside and to the bar.

"How's it going?" said the bartender. He really couldn't care less as he leaned against the bar with a blank expression on his face.

"Yeah whatever, give me a beer." Buffy said almost out of breath.

"ID." said the bartender with the same expression on his face. Buffy just looked at him. "ID." He repeated.

"I'm twenty-three years old, just give me a freakin' beer!" Buffy shouted. The bartender just stood there with the same expression.

"ID."

"Ugh! Just give me a coke!" Buffy said in frustration.

"Nice try, But for future reference, you really don't pass for a twenty-three year old." Came Willow's friendly voice from the seat next to Buffy.

"Willow, hey! I have to leave!" Buffy said in a friendly manner.

"But you just got here!"

"I know. I came, I saw, I didn't drink and I have a big test to study for so…bye!"

"Bye." Willow said as Buffy turned around. With that one word Buffy could tell that Willow was confused and hurt. Buffy turned back towards Willow.

"Look Will, don't think that I don't want to be friends with you or anything because I do! I just can't talk to you now for reasons I will explain tomorrow. Just promise me that whatever you do, DON'T seize the moment."

"Okay." Willow said. She was so confused. Buffy looked up at the balcony that overlooked the club. She was hoping to see Giles but was not the least bit surprised when she saw Arnold instead.

"Willow, I see an old friend of mine. I' going to go say hi then…would you like to come to my house to watch a movie?" Buffy asked. She thought that would be the perfect way to keep Willow safe.

"I thought you couldn't talk to me."

"I can talk to you, just not here."

"Being friends with you is going to be difficult isn't it?" Willow said with half a smile on her face.

"You'll learn to love me!"

"Sure. What the hey? A movie sounds like fun!" Willow said with a chuckle.

"Great! I'm just going to talk to my friend and I'll be back!" Buffy said. "And remember, don't seize the moment!" Buffy ran off.

"Did she just tell you not to seize the moment?" Cordillia asked willow. She had been standing across the bar listening the whole time.

"Why do you care?" Willow asked.

"Look I know it doesn't seem like something I'd do but every once in a while I like to give a little advise to those less fortunate than I." Cordillia had a huge smile on her face as Willow just rolled her eyes.

"Okay what advise do you have for me?"

"Don't listen to Buffy! You only love once so take that moment and seize the hell out of it!" Cordillia looked so pleased with her advise. Willow sat there, and to her surprise, actually questioned if she should listen to her enemy.

"You know what Cordy, I never thought I'd say this but…you're right!" Willow spun around in her chair and scoped the room. She saw a man that looked a year or two older than her. He was wearing a jacket over a button-down shirt with the sleeves rolled up. As he walked by, Willow stopped him. "Hi, I'm Willow."

She waited a second, as he looked her up and down. Then with a smile he said, "Hey, I'm Thomas."

"Spying on me?" Buffy asked Arnold as she snuck up behind him on the balcony. He jumped just a little.

"No. I'm checking for future clients. This girl over here wants to be accepted by a particular friend of hers." Buffy couldn't help but laugh, as the girl was Harmony, a past rival of Buffy's. At their Graduation Harmony was turned into a vampire.

"Yeah, that sounds like Harmony!" Buffy said.

"And this girl down there wants to go out with that boy instead of going to her friends house. Oh but this young man wants world domination! He might be my next client."

Buffy ignored Arnold talking about Jonathan, another past rival of Buffy's, to focus on Willow. Willow was the one that didn't want to go to her friend's house and instead go out with some guy. She sighed in frustration as she saw Willow dancing the way she was seven years ago. What made matters worse; she was dancing with the same vampire.

"That's Willow." Buffy said. "And that's a vampire."

"What is she doing with a vampire?" Arnold asked.

"Seizing the moment." Buffy said as she ran after her friend who was now walking out the door with her vampire date.


	6. Chapter 6

_**AUTHOR'S NOTE: I am aware that I left out Jesse. I didn't want to worry about his story line!**_

Chapter 6: "Death is your Gift"

"Willow! WILLOW!" Buffy was screaming for her friend as she exited The Bronze.

"You're looking for Willow?" Xander asked as he stopped Buffy.

"Yes. She's in danger." Buffy ran off towards the cemetery to save her friend. Xander started to run after Buffy.

"Are you sure this is a short cut?" Willow asked Thomas as he led her into the cemetery.

"Yes." Thomas said as he kept walking. Willow was following slowly behind. "Hey have you ever been in one of these?" Thomas asked as he ran over to a mausoleum.

"No…thank you." Willow said as she started to walk off. Thomas grabbed her and threw her in.

"Xander you need to get out of here!" Buffy said as she ran into the cemetery. Xander was running behind her. Just as she ran past the entrance she saw Thomas enter the mausoleum.

"Willow's in trouble. I'm not going anywhere!" Xander said with determination.

"Whatever. Just stay out of harm's way!" Buffy said. She stopped running and was now sneaking up to the mausoleum's entrance.

"You're not going anywhere until we've FED!" Buffy could hear an old rival of hers, Darla, talking to Willow. Willow shrieked and Buffy knew that Darla had shown her true identity as a vampire.

"WILLOW!" Xander shouted. He went bursting into the mausoleum to save his friend. Buffy tried to hold him back before he went in but she was too late. She knew that she was useless against the vampires. Of course Xander was no match for them either but if Buffy went in there too then they would all be dead, so she ran.

_I have to go get the police_! She thought to herself. _They would be useless against vampires! No one can help them_. Buffy's eyes began to water. She looked at a tree and broke off a branch. _Screw this! I am the slayer and _I_ can help!_

Buffy began to run back to the mausoleum. She heard a scream and started to run faster.

"GET AWAY FROM THEM!" she yelled as she burst through the doors, but she was too late. She watched in horror as Darla dropped Xander's dead body to the floor with blood smeared on her mouth. She looked around for Willow but didn't have to look far. Willow's dead body was laying on the floor right by the entrance with her face frozen in terror.

"Who the hell are you?" Darla asked as she wiped a mixture of Willow and Xander's blood off of her face, and then changed her face from being a vampire, to a normal looking woman. Buffy knew that she would be next if she stayed, so she turned and ran from the mausoleum. Darla went to run after her but was stopped by a giant hand, it was Luke.

"Don't. The master will be angry enough as it is that you ate his food. Don't piss him off even more by going after some foolish little girl. We'll get her eventually." Luke said to Darla. Darla looked unpleased.

"What should we do with these?" She asked, talking about the bodies of the innocent people that she had murdered.

"Leave them. They are dead, they can't be changed." Luke said. He grabbed Darla by the arm and left through the tunnel that was hidden in the mausoleum.

Buffy ran as fast as she could through the cemetery. She was crying so hard she could barely see or breath. She stopped to catch her breath and looked around to make sure no one was chasing after her. She saw that the coast was clear and sat down behind a tombstone and began to cry even harder. She couldn't stop crying. Her best friends had just been murdered in front of her and all she wanted to do was to be held in Spike's arms with him telling her it would be okay. Then she heard it.

"Death is your gift." A mystic voice came from nowhere and Buffy knew at once who was speaking, although she couldn't see her.

"Death is your gift." The voice said again. Buffy stopped crying and wiped the tears from her face and looked around again.

"Death is your gift." The voice said one last time and then the person speaking showed itself in front of Buffy. It was The First Slayer.

"Death is _our_ gift." The Slayer said.

"Wait, I thought it was _my _gift. I am the slayer."

"No. You know nothing of what you are."

"I know exactly who I am."

"Then why did you come here?"

"Because I wanted out. I didn't want death to be my gift anymore. I've lost so much because of me being the slayer that I just wanted it to be over."

"Look at what not being the slayer has cost you."

"My friends."

"Yes. Would you really give up your best friends to not be the slayer? Is it worth it?"

"No."

"Good, so what do you now know?"

"That I need to be the slayer. It's who I am. Death is my gift."

"So give it."

"Excuse me?"

"Stop the Harvest, and you will return." These were the slayer's last words before she disappeared before Buffy could say anything.

"Stop the Harvest and I will return? How can I freaking do that if I have none of my slayer powers?!?" Buffy shouted at the night sky.

"I'm glad you asked." Arnold said as he popped up behind Buffy.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7: "What Have You Learned

Chapter 7: "What Have You Learned?"

"Have you thought this through?" Arnold asked Buffy. He was following her as she made her way towards The Bronze. She had a crossbow slung over her shoulder and a pack of bows across her back. She was walking very fast; Arnold had to jog to keep up with her.

"There is nothing to think about?! I kill Luke and stop The Harvest! Then I'm on the next bus out of this crazy alternate universe! I will be back in the real world where my friends are alive."

"Yes but how are you going to kill him? You're not the slayer anymore!"

"So what! Xander, Willow, Anya, Tara, and Giles never had slayer strength and that never stopped them from being right there by my side for seven years! Plus this nifty little crossbow should help."

"What if you miss?" Arnold had finally caught up to her and blocked her path.

"I won't." Buffy said as she walked right past him. Arnold was so furious at her stubbornness it made him change into his demonic form and yelled,

"STOP!" She did so. Still in demonic form he walked up to her. He took a deep breath and changed back to his human form. "What have you learned?"

"I've learned that you have an aggressive side…?" Buffy questioned in a joking manner.

"You have learned NOTHING!" Arnold shouted. At his final word the world around him and Buffy disappeared in a shockwave and reappeared as the cemetery. What once was a dark and questionable alley was now a sun bathed cemetery. Buffy looked to her feet and saw two graves side by side. The names on the tombstones read Xander Harris and Willow Rosenberg.

Buffy looked away as tears started to form in her eyes. "What are we doing here?"

"We're here so you can learn a lesson! The reason that you were brought to this alternate world was so you could learn a thing or two about being the slayer and how important it is. Since you aren't learning this on your own, looks like I'm going to have to intervene. Do you remember about four years ago when Cordillia wished herself into an alternate world?"

"Are you kidding? For the longest time Anya would never shut up about it. Why?"

"So you know what happened?"

"Um, Cordillia wished that I never came to Sunnydale, she got her wish and died."

"Do you know who killed her?" Arnold asked. Buffy looked puzzled. She never did know who had killed Cordy in the world she wished herself into…nor did she really even care. "It was Xander and Willow."

"What?" Buffy asked.

"That's right. Don't you remember Willow's Doppelganger, the skanky vamp? That was the Willow from Cordy's alternate world; and guesses what; the Willow from this world and the one from Cordy's died the same exact way!" Buffy got a look of realization on her face.

"So no matter what; if I wasn't the slayer or if I never came to Sunnydale, Xander and Willow would have died last night?"

"Yes, now you are beginning to learn why you're here! Now, let's talk about something else. How many times have you died to protect not just your friends, but your little sister?"

"Once." Buffy recalled her death two years ago. She had jumped to her death to save her little sister's life.

"Yes. You and Dawn have the same blood. Don't you remember?" When Arnold spoke he sounded like Buffy. "It's Summer's blood. It's just like mine." Buffy fell down and began to cry.

"Please stop it!"

"NO! Not until you understand why being the slayer is so important."

"Because if I'm not the slayer then nothing matters! The friends that I've made would have died without me there to protect them…the world would have been destroyed countless times! And I saved it."

"Buffy are you okay in there?" A voice came from nowhere that wasn't Arnold's. Buffy looked up and she saw the bathroom she had first been in before Arnold had taken her to her alternate world. Buffy then knew that it was Dawn who was talking to her.

Buffy got up off the floor, tightened the towel she was wearing, and opened the door. She had a sigh of relief when she didn't see Arnold, her mom, or even Xander or Willow. She was so happy to see her baby sister that all she did was hugged her.

"Dawn I'm so happy to see you! I love you so much!"

"Um, Buffy…did you hit your head or something?" Dawn joked.

"No!" Buffy said as she laughed and cried at the same time. "I've just realized how important everything is to me!"

The two sisters just stood there in the doorway to the bathroom of the shabby hotel room, hugged each other, and cried.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8: Searching…

Chapter 8: Searching…

Buffy was walking down the steps to the game room of the hotel that had a snack machine. She didn't even notice Arnold as she walked right past him.

"Would it kill you to thank me at least?" He asked. She jumped and turned around to see his friendly face and laughed.

"Well you didn't give me time to the way you left the room once I got back. But you're here now so…thanks A-Diddy!" She chuckled at the nickname he had gotten from a previous client. He rolled his eyes.

"Okay so I'm a sucker for sob stories. Since you discovered why you were put in that world, with some assistance, I have decided to do something for you."

"Do something like what?"

"It kind of breaks the rules so don't tell anyone but…you can bring one person you have lost back to life."

"What?!" Buffy looked dumbfounded. She knew exactly who she wanted to bring back but when Arnold saw the look on his face, he had to explain the rules.

"It's true. But it has to be someone who died from a supernatural death, so I'm sorry for getting your hopes up, but your mom is out of the question."

"Oh. It can be anyone I want though?"

"Yes, Anya, Spike, maybe a potential who died in the final…"

"Would this person remember their death?" Buffy said cutting him off.

"No. Time would have gone on as if they never died."

Buffy thought for a moment. She knew that she wanted Spike back. She wanted so badly for him to be there with her right now. But if time would have gone on as if he never died, then they probably would still be in Sunnydale right now, possible dead in the Hellmouth. After a moment of thinking she made her decision.

"Anya. Bring Anya back for Xander. He is a complete wreck without her and I hate seeing him this way."

"Are you sure this is what you want?"

"I am."

"Okay." Arnold closed his eyes and after a moment of concentration he clapped his hands together. On the sound of the clap a shock wave appeared around him and Buffy and they were in the hallway of Sunnydale High School. Anya was fighting off an Ubber Vampire when a Bringer snuck up behind her. At the last minute she turned around and stabbed the Bringer in his stomach. She went on fighting and the shock wave was back. It surrounded Arnold and Buffy and then they were back in the game room.

"Thanks Arnold. You have no idea how grateful I am." Buffy said. She hugged Arnold then walked back to the room she and her friends were staying in. When she walked in a smile came across her face when she saw Anya sitting on the couch with Xander.

"Can I help you?" Anya asked when she saw Buffy staring. Buffy just laughed, shut the door behind her, and walked over to her friends.

When Buffy sits down on the coffee table all you see is the top of her and her friend's heads. All of a sudden we zoom out of the hotel room and across the country and land at the base of what used to be Sunnydale. What once was a small little town was now a giant hole in the earth. We are now in the very bottom of the hole. Broken pieces of homes, buildings, and roads can be seen scattered everywhere. Out of no where a hand breaks through the ground. It fights its way through everything. It holds onto a piece of metal and pulls itself up. It is Spike. He looks around.

"What the f-" Much like with Buffy and her friends we zoom half way across the globe to Italy. Men are digging away in a cave. A man comes out of the cavern and walks over to someone. We cannot see who the person is; all we see is the man.

"What could you possibly be looking for in this cave?" The man asks the person. We still do not see you it is but when they answer, it is Buffy's voice.

"I'm searching for something."


End file.
